


Strangers Like Me

by kVader



Series: Spideypool Disney Au [2]
Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Tarzan Fusion, Fantasy, Fluff, Fun, Light Angst, M/M, Sorry Disney, There's also art on almost every chapter, There's gonna be sex because I have no shame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-11-07 18:38:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17965916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kVader/pseuds/kVader
Summary: Peter never thought he'd get to go on a expedition with the famous Hank McCoy, especially not to the mysterious island of Hank's birth that caused his peculiar appearance. But Peter would never pass up such an opportunity, no matter the risks and secrets the island may hold.~ Tarzan Au ~





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ImaKaraTabiHe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaKaraTabiHe/gifts), [Moreid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moreid/gifts), [MunchkinButler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MunchkinButler/gifts), [PiperHollow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PiperHollow/gifts), [scarlett_starlett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarlett_starlett/gifts).
  * Translation into Español available: [Extraños Como Yo](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17970080) by [kVader](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kVader/pseuds/kVader)



> HERE IT IS!
> 
> The Tarzan Spideypool Au no one asked for but I still wrote :)
> 
> This is a gift for my 5 favorite people here (I totally tagged another scarlett last time lmao. sorry, pls kill me)
> 
> You guys are amazing and so supportive all the time :3 thank you _so much_ , I wish I could give you more than my fics lol but know that I appreciate you all :3 <3
> 
> And as always, thank you Vix :3 my amazing beta reader <3

The night was full of stars, as always in that place of utter darkness. The only thing different was that that night shone brighter than normal, and he was sheltered by the warmth of his mother and another baby by his side.

His mother smiled at him, it was a nervous expression as she tried to calm his crying, stroking his cheek and singing lullabies. "Everything will be fine," he remembers his mother telling him, coughing and trying not to fade. "Soon you'll be safe."

Just behind his mother's face, there was fire, flames growing with the passage of time in the boat where they were... trying to escape, and tears fell from his mother's cheeks.

"Never forget us, Hank."

~ • ~

It had been about a month since Dr. Henry Phillip "Hank" McCoy, a renowned scientist in the field of biochemistry and genetics, decided to talk about his past and the reason for his physical appearance. A human baby with the body of a gorilla had appeared in the open sea 32 years ago, being rescued and becoming news throughout his life, Hank had never wanted to talk about his past, choosing to say that he remembered nothing.

Up until a month ago.

Peter watched him from his position on the boat, taking notes next to a photo of the island that Hank described as "His first home."

It was strange to see Dr. Hank so anxious, for he had always been a very quiet and confident man. The man adjusted his shirt every time the ship moved abruptly and cleared his throat each time he looked up and found the island, getting bigger and imminent above them with each passing minute.

Peter looked down at the notebook on his lap. It had an old vintage photo found in one of the books Tony requested from the national library when Hank began to talk about his past. An island like any other, with high mountains and full of vegetation and rocks, sand and some rivers going across. The only difference was that this island housed all kinds of creatures, beings that the world had never seen before.

"Experimentation," Hank had explained at that meeting table, where Tony Stark, Peter, and Dr. Emrys Killebrew sat as they listened to him. "The only thing I remember is that my parents were part of that madness. They wanted to fly away to save the youngsters like me, but... I think only I survived that escape."

From then on, Dr. Emrys Killebrew became completely obsessed with the idea of researching the island, and Tony supported him, because although the horrible "Weapon X" project had ended many years ago, there were probably still many people who were left there still suffering.

Peter trusted Tony's word. He knew his intention was the most sincere. Dr. Emrys, on the other hand, was another story. Peter felt a certain sense of unease that made him distrust the sincerity of this man. His way of speaking of experimentation as something common, or the way his eyes seemed to shine when Hank spoke of the "mutants" they could find in that island rankled.

"Lowering anchor, Captain!" shouted one of the men from the back of the deck. "We'll be ashore in about twenty minutes."

Peter looked at Hank, who took a deep breath and settled his shirt again. The brunet smiled, placed the strip of his camera around his neck, and closed the research notebook he had with him before getting up to go and get his package.

There were still a few hours until sunset. The wind was warm, and the sun still stood high in the sky. Tony left his cabin with his tools in hand and sunglasses covering his eyes. Peter was sure it was the first time the millionaire had left his laboratory to set out on a journey through the jungle, especially because his shoes looked completely new.

Not that Peter was an expert on the subject, but when he was in school, they sometimes camped in the nearby mountains, and that must count for something.

"Once we are on the island, we must move quickly to find a place to settle," Hank commented, not taking his eyes off the island. "The air smells musty, so we better take refuge before the night falls."

Peter nodded, feeling his heart speed up faster and faster. He did not know if he was nervous or excited, although he was sure it was an inexplicable combination of both.

Once the ship was anchored, the four scientists abandoned the ship in small boats that transported them and their properties to land. Peter then raised his lens and took the first picture of the island now that he was already there, smiling as he felt his feet buried in the ground after so long in the open sea.

"A person's balance depends on three systems: the eyes, which keep us balanced thanks to the fact that they see the horizon line; the ears, which send information to the brain at the location of the head; and the receptors of the legs, which inform us of the position of the body with respect to the ground," Hank said, standing right next to Peter and looking at the sand covering his furry feet.

"During a boat trip, none of these systems are able to inform us too well about our balance: the movement of the waves makes the ship rock, so the brain receives contradictory information from the three systems that govern balance."

A smile stretched on Peter's mouth and he nodded. "That's why the brain takes a few days to return to the stability of its surroundings on mainland, especially if we have been at sea for several days."

Hank laughed, looking at Peter with a raised eyebrow. "You're pretty young to be the apprentice and right hand of a renowned scientist, boy."

"I'm 24 years old." Peter shrugged and let go of his camera to take the straps of his backpack. "You and Mr. Stark were much younger than me when you started."

Hank shrugged and patted Peter's shoulder. "It doesn't matter when you start, but to start at some point."

The biologist then took his luggage and started walking towards the huge trees that surrounded the island without saying anything else. He grabbed the bags with both hands, and although they didn't seem to be heavy, the scientist looked as if he had an enormous weight on his shoulders. Probably the nights without sleep before they arrived on the island, or the years he had with all those secrets without speaking them aloud until now.

Peter turned his gaze to the ship, where Tony was coming toward him with his handbag hanging from one shoulder, and another bag in the other hand. "Do you think they have a human or animal appearance?" Peter asked Tony, whispering so that the others would not listen. "Would they walk with two or four legs? What do you think, Tony?"

Tony smiled, but immediately frowned when he noticed that Hank had stopped right in front of the wall of flora that surrounded the island. "All I know, Pete, is that this will be the best or worst experience of our lives."

At that moment there was a sound very similar to the roar of a gorilla, followed by many others inside the island. The three scientists still on the shore of the island stopped, looking around with awe, except for Hank, who smiled sincerely for the first time on the trip.

Turning to the other explorers, he said, "That's my family."

~ ° ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the art for this fic (and me) on Tumblr: [kari-vader](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kari-vader)


	2. I

There were lianas everywhere, and the insects that came across the road, although they seemed normal, their colors were very striking, and the shape of their bodies or wings betrayed that their ancestors had been exposed to radiation at some time in the past. 

Peter did not miss the opportunity to take pictures of any strange creature that was put in front of him. That was until Tony began to rush him because they could not afford to be left behind. 

The constant echo of the animals, the leaves of the trees moving with the wind, and the water in the distance, were extremely relaxing sounds. Peter knew it was dangerous, but he could not help but turn aside on the way to take a picture of some bird with extravagant golden plumages, or wild cats with completely black eyes and white pupils. 

Monkeys jumped over his head, but Peter never managed to take a good picture before they fled. While the others continued talking in the distance, Peter moved away a little more, finding a very striking fruit, known as ["Dragon Fruit"](https://buenavida.pr/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/iStock_000044367732_Medium.jpg) and Peter remembered his aunt talking about it and its sweet flavour. 

Again, the lens of his camera focused, this time on the beautiful magenta color of the fruit, and just as the click of the camera was going to take the picture, a small hairy hand blurred his vision. 

"Oh!" Peter looked up from the lens and found himself almost face to face with a small baboon, who now had the fruit in his hand and took a big bite, watching Peter closely. 

"Hello," Peter whispered, not wanting to move much so as not to scare it. "You're so small, where are your parents?" 

The baboon then lowered his gaze to Peter's camera and tilted his head, laying aside the fruit to approach the device. Peter chuckled as the little ape climbed on his shoulder and began to smell him. "You shouldn’t do that," Peter whispered, raising the lens a bit to take a picture. "If your parents saw us, they would be very angry." 

Again, the baboon looked at his camera and Peter took the best picture he had taken in his life, both observing his camera like a self-portrait. "Mr. Stark is going to enjoy this." 

The baboon then began to pull at the cord of Peter's camera, trying to run away with it even though the camera was around Peter's neck, who gasped when the cord broke and the camera slipped from his hands and ended up in the baboon's. "Oh no no no, you can't do that," Peter insisted, walking behind the baboon who continued to inspect the camera while running away from Peter. 

"My salary is low, I cannot afford to buy another camera." 

It was then that the baboon found Peter's picture with him, and the monkey's face seemed excited, screaming and jumping as he looked at the camera. Peter took advantage of the distraction and slowly began to move closer. "You know," he said, holding out his hand slowly. "If you gave me back the camera, I could take another one." 

The little animal noticed the closeness and jumped, yelling at Peter for moving closer. "As if it was my fault," Peter said, offended even though he did not understand what the ape was saying. " _You_ are the thief who took _my_ camera." 

The baboon seemed to stick out his tongue, to which Peter gasped and huffed in frustration. Then an idea occurred to him. "Oh look, what is that?" he asked, pointing behind the little monkey, who turned his gaze interested. Peter then took advantage of the other's innocence and took the camera, laughing proudly. 

"I know it seems cruel, but I really need my camera, your parents need to teach you a good lesson about manners, young man. I do not think they would like..." 

His hair moved suddenly, and Peter felt the breath of something behind him, something warm and with a particular smell that the wind definitely didn't have. Peter cleared his throat and slowly looked over his shoulder, finding a large herd of baboons. These were not so small. 

"I believe they are your parents?" 

The little baboon looked proud for a moment, before pouting with his upper lip out in a hoax deception, and started crying desperately. Peter gasped again, wondering when he had ended up in such a situation, but before he could even think about it, the parents of the little baboon began to growl. Peter had no choice but to start running as fast as his legs would allow him. 

Branches of trees tangled with his feet, and lianas or snakes got in his way, but Peter could not stop running, because on his heels there were about twenty very, very angry baboons. 

"Damn it!" Peter gasped, jumping on a rock and running into a ravine, very tall and dangerous. "Mr. Stark is going to kill me when he finds out I died for taking pictures of a baboon." 

Peter turned to find the group of baboons gaining on him, showing their teeth in a threatening manner. His only options now were to die because of the fall or die as dinner for a group of animals. Neither sounded preferable. 

Peter sighed and closing his eyes he fell down the ravine, feeling the emptiness invade his belly, and his ears pop like a cork removed from a bottle. Although Peter did not fall, and there was an arm around his waist, and Peter was sure it was not Death leading him to another life, unless Death was very muscular and liked to travel around naked. 

Peter opened his eyes in shock and dizziness instantly seized his body, because although Peter did not fall, the brunet was still at a great distance from the ground. 

"Oh my God!" Peter shouted, holding on tightly to the person holding him, and hitting one of the baboons with his shoe, which managed to grab one of his legs. "Get off me!" 

Right at their sides, many baboons ran on the branches of the trees, following them with a single purpose that was not linked to anything good. The man holding him released the liana with which he was moving around, and Peter felt his soul fall, screaming again until the man took another liana and continued without breaking a sweat. 

"I think I'm going to faint." 

The man let go of Peter for a moment, in which Peter felt his stomach fall to a pile of scribbles, and his screams were not even nervous anymore. A baboon grabbed Peter's shirt, and then the others joined in, not letting him fall though he knew it was not exactly to save him. 

"This shirt is neeew..." 

The man again grabbed Peter by the waist, who clung to the man's torso with a strength he didn't know he had. "I don't even know you, but I don't want you to leave me ever again, okay?" 

The man released the liana and slid through the branches of a tree, with Peter holding on to his naked torso as if Peter were the ape. Then, without warning, another ravine appeared, and Peter shouted, "Careful!" but he was ignored because the man jumped anyway. 

His scream was also ignored, just a desperate sound that not even a mosquito could hear, for the next second, the both of them were surfing along the branch of another tree again, reaching the end where a hollow trunk appeared in front of them, like a mouth waiting to devour them. Peter tried to cling harder to the man's leg as the two began descending through the hole as if it were a slide. And when Peter thought that nothing could go worse, he stopped feeling the man next to him, destiny leaving him once more on his own. 

Down below was the group of baboons waiting for him, and when Peter tried to grab some part of the trunk to avoid falling into their hands, the man appeared from nowhere and grabbed him by the waist. Pushing forward with all his strength, he aimed at the baboons, thus emerging from the hollow log and bowling over them like pins.

Peter's cry was short-lived, for when he opened his eyes, the two were standing on a half-shattered branch of a tree, while the baboons continued to scream from the other side. Peter turned his gaze to the man, who began to argue with the baboons, moving his arms as if he were giving his point of view. 

The alpha baboon continued his discussion until the man turned to Peter, who gasped and stepped back. "I swear, whatever they say is a lie." 

The man looked down at Peter's camera and pointed at it, to which Peter lowered his gaze to the device and then shook his head. "Everything except for my camera, please." 

The man glared at him, and the alpha baboon growled, at which Peter bit his lip and sighed in defeat. "Fine, you should be grateful that I brought another camera with me, and that this one doesn't have such good quality, but I think it is unfair since..." 

Neither of the other had an answer to his monologue, as expected, so Peter continued his internal discussion while he unhooked the camera from his neck and handed it to the man, who smelled it and watched it with a frown, probably not understanding the uproar caused by such a neutral object.

The baboons began to argue again, at which the man rolled his eyes and threw the camera. The air was punched from Peter as he watched it soar above them, landing with a cracking sound on the ground; but that didn't seem to affect the little baboon, who was clinging to his mother’s belly, gave a shout of happiness and ran to embrace the camera.

The alpha baboon nodded with a loud scowling vocalization and turned around and left. Peter blinked several times, watching the scene without being able to believe that everything that had just happened would end so easily. So he then turned around and began to slowly slide through the lianas tied to the tree, trying to escape from all that and be able to look for his group. 

His foot almost slid, but Peter managed to hold on tightly to the tree, sticking his face against the humidity and something viscous stuck to the tree. "Ew," Peter said, trying to ignore the feeling until he reached the other side. 

The brunet sighed and stretched his shoulders, jumping when he found that the man was already on the other side, waiting for him. Peter cleared his throat, watching as the man studied him with his head tilted to the side. 

"I must look very stupid right now," Peter said, chuckling and gasping as the man came closer to watch him more closely, smelling and sneezing when he buried his nose in Peter's hair. 

Peter snorted before covering his mouth so the man would not think Peter was making fun of him. "It must be the perfume that I..." 

The man who maintained a posture on all fours, stood up on his two legs right in front of Peter, watching his face in silence. The brunet said nothing more, looking into the man's eyes, as light as the sky and curious as a child's, surrounded by marks and dirt from the earth that seemed to be part of his nature. He was a tall, strong-bodied man, and judging by his proportions and the way he stood, he had probably spent his entire life in the jungle. He had scars and lacerations all over his body, and Peter wondered if any of those marks were a product of what had just happened. 

"Are you okay?" Peter asked in a whisper, raising his hand to touch the man's face, who jumped and looked at him with wide eyes.

Peter shook his head, and when he was going to start apologizing, the man moved away, frowning and looking at the ground, his mind probably debating what was happening, before taking Peter by the waist and jumping down with the help of a liana. Once Peter was safe on the ground, the man disappeared among the island's vegetation.

Peter watched him until he had no vision of the man, biting his lip and letting out a sigh.

"Peter!" 

The brunet turned quickly, finding Tony and Hank running toward him. "We heard an uproar, and I thought you were dead," Tony said, grabbing Peter's shoulders with both hands and studying his body. "Imagine the costs of removing your deceased body from here." 

Peter laughed, turning to Hank with excited eyes. "You won't believe what happened to me." 

At that moment, Dr. Emrys appeared from among the branches, cleaning his clothes and watching Peter closely. The brunet closed his mouth and cleared his throat. It would be better to talk later. 

"I found a pitaya," Peter said, smiling innocently. 

Tony raised an eyebrow, not surprised in the sightless by the discovery that Peter seemed so excited about. "I see. Sounds interesting, kid." 

"They're sweet," Emrys said, observing everything around him. "Many enjoy them. I imagine you saw some animals nearby?" 

Peter stayed silent for a moment, glancing sideways at the direction where the man had left. "Some baboons, _nothing more_."

Emrys nodded, looking at him with suspicion, to which Hank cleared his throat and pointed the way back to the camp. "It's getting late. I think we should go back." 

Peter nodded, and while the others took the lead back to their routine, Peter turned one last time, observing the vegetation that surrounded them. A couple of plants moved suspiciously. He smiled knowingly and ran back to his people.


	3. II

In the sky flew birds with long tails of radiant plumage to which the sun could not help but make shine. On the ground, the flowers grew with petals of different sizes and colors, some roses even resembling glass. 

Peter found that everything was like a dream, like being on a trip in a lost world and not in an island on the same planet earth where he has always lived. Everything seemed out of a book by Lewis Carroll. The only thing missing was a rabbit with a clock jumping hurriedly. 

The species that most attracted Peter's attention were the spiders. They were of all sizes and colors, and the one Peter found most interesting was quite particular, with blue and red colors on its torso. Just then he was taking a picture of it, while the other scientists were arguing in the camp. This time, Peter had promised not to wander too far away. 

Peter lowered the camera and looked at the picture, laughing when Tony yelled, "The best decision I could make was to bring the Macallan with me," while Hank tried to silence him so he could better hear their surroundings. 

Peter lowered his camera and began to write down the characteristics of the spider in his notebook. "Eight eyes, eight legs, two pedipalps, and a shiny abdomen. Everything relatively similar to that of a normal spider, except for its way of looking at me. She seems to understand what I'm saying." 

At that moment, the sound of dry leaves being crushed by the footsteps of some animal, made Peter turn with a jump. He was sure he would run into a dangerous animal wanting to attack him, especially after what happened the previous day, but Peter only found what he had seen before - trees and plants. Except for a very particular fruit which the previous day Peter could not photograph, rolling on the floor as if it had been thrown there on purpose. 

Peter frowned, turning around to take his belongings and return to the camp. If something happened to his only camera, Tony would kill him, and Peter would agree with the decision. The spider was gone, and Peter felt sad about it, because it was a really beautiful creature, although he was thankful for having at least a picture for the memory. 

Again, there was a sound behind him. It was not dry leaves this time, but as if someone had moved some plants to be able to observe Peter better. Peter narrowed his eyes and grinned mischievously, glancing over his shoulder before falling down to the ground as he grabbed his leg in an act of distress. 

"Ow, it's so painful! I think I hurt my leg!" he complained, making a show of it. Sure enough, the man who had saved his life the previous day came out from under the branches to inspect Peter's leg, looking for any sign of injury. 

Peter started laughing, sitting up straight and watching the man, who glared at him when he realized Peter was not hurt. "It's not good to be stalking other people," Peter said with a smile. 

The man tilted his head to one side and then looked at Peter's hands. " _People,_ " he said. 

Peter gasped, and his reaction caused the man to look at him with wide eyes. "You can talk!" Peter said, moving a little closer to the man, who walked away. 

"Talk," he said, a little clearer this time. 

"Yes!" exclaimed Peter, somewhat excited to say the least. "Talk, you can talk!" 

The man gave a small smile, and Peter felt a warmth inside him because he had provoked that. The man then looked at Peter's hands, where the brunet had his notebook and pencil. Peter followed his gaze and smiled, raising the notebook to show the other guy his notes, although Peter was not sure that the man could understand anything of what was written there. 

"That spider is very interesting, maybe you know what it's called and at some point, you could tell me. It would be interesting to know if they only exist here or maybe they exist in another place in the world like Australia or Costa Rica. It has my favorite colors and I..." 

Peter was speechless when what the man did was to take his hand, watching it very carefully. Peter wore gloves that Hank asked him to use just in case, but the man was not interested in that, removing the garment to reveal his hand, pale and somewhat dirty despite the fabric that covered it previously. The guy then looked at his own hand and moved his fingers a little bit, before looking back at Peter's own, who tried to keep completely still. 

The man then looked him in the eye and raised his hand to join it with Peter's, watching how they fit with each other. " _People._ " 

Peter blinked several times and nodded, freaking out a little when the guy leaned toward him, placing his head against Peter's chest and listening to his heartbeat. The man stood there for a moment, before lifting his head and looking Peter in the eye again, taking Peter's head with both hands and placing him against his chest, quite toned and voluptuous as Peter could tell. 

"People," the guy said again, causing a kind of purr against Peter's ear, who blushed and pushed the guy away. 

"Um," the brunet cleared his throat and combed his hair a little. "Yes, we are people, you and me." 

"You and me." His voice was husky, not at all accustomed to uttering words, only sounds. 

Peter smiled and nodded, because even though that was not his language, the stranger had a very good pronunciation. "What is your name?" 

The man inclined his head to the side, watching Peter inquisitively. Peter cleared his throat again and pointed to himself. "I am Peter, Pe-ter." Then he placed his hand on the other man's chest and looked at him intrigued. 

The man continued to look at him with doubt, to which Peter went back to point to himself. "Peter," then again pointed to the other man, who seemed to understand. 

"Peter," he said, pronouncing the r in a funny way, like a child. Peter chuckled and nodded, pointing at him. 

"Yours?" 

"Peter," the man said again, with a little more enthusiasm. 

Peter shook his head. "No, that's mine, what about you?" 

"Peter!" The guy exclaimed again, smiling a little more and even showing some teeth. 

Peter laughed, shaking his head and letting out a sigh. "Well, I guess it was foolish of me to think it would be easy." 

" _Wade._ " 

Peter stopped and looked up, watching the man who looked at him with helpless eyes, as if waiting for his reaction. "What did you say?" 

The man moved a little in his position, approaching Peter a little to point at him. "Peter," he said, taking his hand again and placing it in front of his own, watching the palms come together naturally. The man smiled slightly again and pointed to himself with his free hand. "Wade."

Peter was speechless for a moment, watching the dirty and scarred face before him, which seemed to be reduced to a tangle of insecurities under so much attention. "Wade," Peter whispered, lowering his gaze to his palm joined with the other man's. "Wade."

The guy - Wade - smiled and nodded with bright eyes, as if it was the first time he heard his name being pronounced by someone else. Both lowered their hands and Peter felt a certain emptiness. It was very interesting to be able to make such intimate contact with a person who had probably been raised as a wild being. Peter wanted to know his age, probably in his early thirties, but he was not sure. Who took care of him as a child and if his parents were still alive, even how many looked just like him? And how did they communicate, like apes or did they have their own language? 

There were many questions Peter wanted to ask, but he knew that first, he had to earn the trust and respect of this man, of Wade, who was still studying him with his eyes as if Peter was the strange creature here. And to tell the truth, Peter and the other scientists probably were. After all, none of the creatures that inhabited that island had known anything different, only the oldest who had suffered at the hands of project "Weapon X", and Peter wondered if they still lived. 

"Maybe someday," Peter whispered, while Wade raised his hand and drew the shape around Peter's face without touching him. "I could show you the tall buildings, books, and Netflix." 

Wade looked at him confused when Peter started to laugh, shaking his head and biting his lip. "I guess you don't need Netflix. You even have your own natural skyscrapers." 

Wade smiled and nodded, acting like he understood everything that Peter was talking about. "Skyscrepeer."

Peter laughed again and nodded "Amazing, you're very smart." 

After that, Wade continued trying to imitate his words. He seemed to understand that Peter found that very interesting, and that made him really happy. Darkness began to appear around afternoon, and Peter decided that although he would have loved to spend all day knowing this man and making him laugh, Peter did not know his surroundings enough to trust that everything would be all right if he had a sleepover with Wade. 

"I think it's time for me to go back," Peter said, almost sighing. By this way of saying it, Wade seemed to understand that it was a goodbye because the wild man looked down and sighed too. "We'll see each other again," Peter promised, leaning a little so Wade could look at him. "We'll be gone in a month or so if everything goes well, so we have lots of time to know each other, I promise." 

Wade smiled, though Peter was sure he did not understand his words, it was the tone of voice that Wade seemed to know how to interpret. Maybe that was their way of communicating with each other. They both stood up then, and Wade decided to accompany him to the camp, sometimes moving on all fours and sometimes trying to imitate Peter's walk. Whatever the situation, Wade always managed to get a smile from Peter. 

Once they managed to reach Peter's camp, the brunet stopped and turned to look at Wade. He knew it was not wise to take the man to the camp at that time. Peter trusted Tony, although he knew that the scientist could be somewhat narcissistic, he had good intentions. He also trusted Hank, the man had very deep feelings for the island and its people... But Dr. Emrys, Peter still did not trust him, and generally, his hunches were accurate. 

"Here we say goodbye," Peter said, trying to make his voice sound confident despite the farewell. Wade looked in the direction of the camp and then back to Peter. 

"People," he said, pointing to the tents and the fire that the other scientists had lit. "Camp." 

Peter chuckled and nodded. "Yes, that's the camp where I'm staying. You can come visit whenever you want." Then he raised his hand, showing the palm to Wade, who understood immediately and placed his own against Peter's. "We'll see each other soon, okay?" 

Wade nodded. It appeared he was beginning to understand certain words, and Peter found that fascinating, considering the little time they had been trying to communicate. 

Peter then sighed and let go of Wade's hand, smiling one last time before walking away towards the camp, where Tony glared at him before beginning to inspect him. "Where the hell have you been, you brat?" Tony asked, raising Peter's hand that was without a glove. "You should be grateful that I put a GPS tracker in your camera with heart rate monitor, otherwise we would have declared you dead hours ago." 

"How strange you are," Peter said, laughing as Tony placed his arm on his shoulder "Next time I'll take you with me." 

Hank looked at him with a raised eyebrow when he noticed the lack of glove on one of Peter's hands, and smiled when he noticed the carefree simper on the brunet's face. "You look happy." 

Peter shrugged and looked around. "I have something to tell you, but I prefer it to be private." 

Hank looked over Peter's shoulder at Emrys and then nodded. "Let's eat first, yes?" Peter nodded and Hank patted him on the shoulder. "I hope it's good news."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the drawing for this chapter [here](https://kari-vader.tumblr.com/post/183478727743/chapter-ii) :)


	4. III

He wasn't tall but was not small either, his hair was the color of the earth wet with summer rain, and his eyes brown and yellowish like the sap that fell from a tree when cut. The human's skin was white without dirt, and the only mark on him was the map of freckles on his cheeks, shoulders, and hands.   


Wade was stunned, frozen in his place when he saw the creature of occurrence for the first time, crossing the path without looking away from the black box in his hand, playing adventurer in a world that he certainly did not know. The same irresistible power that paralyzed Wade forced him to rush after him when the human altered his path to take a picture of one of the fruits that Wade knew very well, making him then meet with a baby baboon, and the rest is history.   


Now Wade watched as the boy, whom Wade now knew as Peter, was moving away towards Peter's herd, where one of his people received him with extreme inspection, checking him in case he had any injuries. Wade was glad to know that Peter had people who cared for him. That's until the other "people" took the boy's hand and checked it, then Wade glared at the other man because he had no right to do that.   


Wade watched a moment longer, as the firelight danced over Peter's face, sometimes making his brown eyes shine, they were like the color of a trunk's interior when he and his group wet the trunk with water so it would be easier to create spears. Wade was completely hypnotized and really wanted to be able to understand the words the boy was telling him, with his voice sometimes hoarse from talking so much, or soft when trying to explain himself.

Wade was beginning to understand some words and their meaning. He knew that "camp" was the nest where Peter's pack was, and the word "soon" meant that the time to meet again would not be so long. It was a nice word. Wade liked it.

Wade understood that he could not spend the whole night watching them, so he turned around and walked back down the trail he had come, moving away from the light of the fire to enter the jungle that saw him born.

Wandering around the path from tree to tree, following the sound of the river and the howls of the gorillas, was always his favorite activity. Especially when his cheeks blushed from the physical activity and effort that entailed, although the red on his cheeks that night was not only due to physical activity.

On the top of a tree, Wade could see the bonfire that showed his way, like a firefly in the density of nature. Wade shouted from the bottom of his chest, and then his packmates greeted him in the same way. Wade smiled and immediately descended the tree, running towards his group, until he came face to face with Logan, one of the leaders of the pack.

"What's new, old man?" Wade asked, his chest heaving and nervously smiling.

Logan glared at him, giving a simple sniff to Wade's body. "You smell like intruder."

"It's called _perfume_ ," Wade clarified, trying to sound funny with the new word learned, though Logan seemed very unimpressed.

"They are dangerous, Wade."

"He's just a young kid, Logan," Wade insisted, passing by the leader and ignoring his grunt. "He would not kill a spider, and you think he would hurt us?"

"You don't know them," Logan insisted, while Wade ignored him to say hello to one of the women in the group who was preparing the crops they would eat that night. "Their group wears white coats and they smell like lab."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Wade sighed, picking up one of the gorilla-looking boys who tried to attack him from behind. "The boy smells like cinnamon and cacao."

Logan sighed and rubbed his temple, nodding to greet one of the men who passed them. "You don't remember well, but they mean no good."

"I remember everything, Logan," Wade interrupted, avoiding Logan's gaze. "But I think it's fair that you let me forget, they are not the same... at least Peter is not."

"Peter?" Logan asked, incredulous at what he was hearing. "You even know his name?"

"What is a Peter?" suddenly asked a skinny figure, sliding upside down from a liana and stopping just in front of Wade, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Damn it, Worm," Clint muttered, taking the other boy from the waist and turning him around to face Logan, their pack leader. Worm gasped and immediately descended from the liana to make a small bow.

"Good evening, sir, I did not know you were around. When did you come back?"

Clint slid his palm over his face, and Wade rolled his eyes, taking Worm out of the way to get back to Logan, who seemed ready to move away from the group again. "I'm not a child, yes?" Wade said, shrugging and trying to dismiss the other's concern. "I know sometimes I look like it, but I will not put anyone in danger, I promise."

Logan looked at him seriously one last time, and turning around to walk away, he said. "Do not trust men, Wade. They're not always what they seem."

Wade understood the fear and resentment Logan felt towards "people." He himself had experienced as a child and adolescent what they were capable of. Even now he felt a strange feeling when looking at the man with rounded glasses and silver hair that was with Peter's pack, but that did not prevent his thoughts to be positive when thinking about the boy.

"It is impossible for such a kind 'people' to hurt someone."

"Who is a kind 'people'?" Worm asked.

"Peter," Clint replied.

"And who is Peter?" Worm asked again.

"I don't know," Clint replied, shrugging one shoulder and smiling at him, to which Worm simply frowned.

Wade snorted and lunged at Worm, both rolling on the ground as they undertook a small fight. Clint instead sat on a rock and began to sharpen the tips of his arrows. "Why does Logan hate you now?"

"Nothing new," Wade said, holding Worm under his arm.

"What did you do now?" the boy asked. He was two years younger than Wade but shabby and a little sicker than the others, and for that same reason, Wade and Clint always tried to make him feel stronger.

"Exist, I suppose," Wade replied, releasing Worm to give him a spank.

Clint looked at him with a raised eyebrow, knowing that some new reason must exist, and Wade could not hide it for long. "You smell strange."

Wade simulated offense and looked at his friend with a hand on his chest. "Not that you smell like flowers, and yet you don't see me saying anything about it."

Clint glared at him, while Worm laughed at his side, watching them both and waiting for another comment. "You know what I'm talking about," Clint muttered. "You smell like something sweet."

"Candy," Wade said, smiling almost hypnotized as he looked at his palm, with which he had held Peter's hand. "I have no idea what that means, but he said he had eaten one just before we met."

"He?" Worm asked. "The Peter 'people'?"

"I think he smells like a mixture of cacao with figs," Wade smiled, while the other two looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Although he also has a hint of something salty, maybe peanuts or sea."

Worm blinked several times, watching his friend who had his sight lost. "I think he's talking about food."

Wade immediately glared at him. "Don't you dare to eat him."

"Wha-?"

Clint snorted, patting his friend's head. "He's obviously talking about someone, Worm, not food.

Worm frowned and crossed his arms in frustration. "Then why did he mention all those things?"

Clint shrugged. "Because this is Wade we're talking about."

"Because it's something I don't know myself," Wade sighed, walking towards the tree he was using as a nest now. "And when there is something you do not know about, you must mention things you already know to make sense of it."

"What is it?" Worm asked again, following them as they climbed the tree.

Wade stopped, causing the other two to stop as well, watching him carefully as the other bit his lip and looked around. "I trust you," he said, approaching them so his whisper could be heard by the other two. "You better not open your mouth about this."

Wade and Clint turned to Worm, who glared at them and crossed his arms. "I swear."

Wade nodded and cleared his throat, speaking as low as his vocal cords allowed him. "People means _humans_."

Clint and Worm opened their eyes wide, Clint shaking his head and Worm hyperventilating. "They're going to kill us. They're going to do experiments with us again. We'll be objects again and-"

Wade covered the young man's mouth, looking straight into his yellow eyes. "Calm down and breathe deeply."

"But he's right," Clint whispered. "I'm with Worm on this one."

"Mph," objected Worm behind Wade's hand.

Wade sighed and shook his head, removing his hand from Worm's mouth once he made sure the panic had subsided. "These are different."

"How?" Clint asked, staring with a raised eyebrow.

"Peter has been very good to me."

"Everyone is very good, at the beginning."

"There is one that looks just like us."

The other two were silent. Clint frowned, and Worm stared with wide eyes. Wade knew that could mean many things, whether the man who looked like them was their prisoner, or he was the humans equal and was there to help Wade and his people. Wade was still not sure. He saw the man until he left Peter in the camp, and the boy had not mentioned anything.

"Was he wearing shackles?" Clint asked, very serious.

"No." At least, not that Wade could remember.

"He looked like us?" Worm asked.

"Yes, hairy and with animal features like you, Worm."

Worm's eyes seemed to glow while Clint continued with his arms crossed. "Was he hurt?"

"No," Wade replied, that he could remember.  


"Did he looked uncomfortable?"

"No."

"Repressed?"

"No, he was sitting with them around the fire, speaking in their language."

Clint continued to watch him silently, probably making sure every word was true, and Wade was not lying. Worm, on the other hand, seemed excited, looking at both of them and waiting for a last word, but as neither said anything else. The youngest of the three cleared his throat and smiled.

"So..." Worm said, hugging both of them by the shoulders. "When are we going to visit them?"

Clint and Wade turned to look at each other, and the next moment they were laughing, Clint moving Worm's hair, who chuckled. A new adventure awaited them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Worm is a character from Deadpool, who had a short appearance as [Wade's torture partner](https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2016/02/Deadpool-Worm.jpg) when they were imprisoned in the Weapon X Program.
> 
> I wanted to add him in the story because I always felt that he was a character who, despite the suffering, was always nice to Wade.
> 
> Of course I changed the physical appearance here - quite a lot - but I wanted to give his nickname to one of my characters as a way to bring him back to life :)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it!


	5. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not yet edited, so sorry about some mistakes and inconsistencies lol
> 
> Much love <3

The singing of all the birds around the island was the first sign that the day was just beginning, not to mention the dawning light infiltrating between the branches of the trees and illuminating his nest through the holes. The smell of the recently extinguished fire, probably by someone who had spent the night haggard, came to him as a fresh memory of the countless nights of shared stories and poems that were fabricated around the bonfire when their life style became monotonous.  

The woman who took Wade as her own when Wade was just a child and lost his parents, who made him feel part of the pack even when Wade was so different from the others, and who had always been there for him, had already woken up and was piling the fruits they would eat in the morning, in a corner of their nest so that insects would not affect the space.  

"Do you think they eat fruit in the morning too?" Wade asked, stretching his back before coming closer to peel a mango.  

Blind Al shrugged, she still felt insecure about the issue, because like Logan, she had lived the tortures and experimentation for longer than Wade and the other young people in the pack. Her words had been few when Wade told her what had happened with Peter and Logan, and those same words were still short in the presence of the subject when she only said. "Probably, it helps digestion."  

"Would their poop be the same color as ours?"  

"I don't think their ass is diferent from ours."  

The young man began to laugh, leaning over Al's shoulder to support his head there. "They look like us but without hair everywhere, like me."  

"Yours is different," Al reminded him, biting her apple as she tried to ignore reality.  

Wade shrugged and took another bite of his mango. "They speak differently."  

"It's the human language," Al could vocalize that language, Wade knew because when he was a child amd the nights were grey, Al sometimes sang to him in a language that he did not understand, she called it a "lullaby."  

"Do you still remember it?"  

"Some words," Al said, shrugging it off.  

Wade sighed and wiped his mouth with his arm as he watched Al, her face still very human, unlike most of the pack. She was different, just like Wade, and that's why she had adopted him as her own. "I think they just want to help us."  

Al continued to eat her apple, without as much care as she usually did, and leaving the fruit by her side, she took Wade's face between her hands and squeezed it. "You must promise me something, you empty head," Wade kept silent and she sighed. "If those people try something, Wade, if you see the slightest intention in their eyes to want to hurt you, you have to run away as fast as you can, okay?"  

Wade opened his mouth to object, but the woman lifted her hand to silent him. "Maybe the guy you talk so much about is good, but you don't know anything about the others and that's where you have to tread carefully, remember that not every branch is stable."  

Wade hugged Al by the shoulders, who responded by placing her head on Wade's chest. "You should not be afraid," Wade whispered, caressing the arm of the woman who loved him so much even though she did not always say it, and whom he loved so much even though he as well didn't say it that often. "I was raised well, by a woman somewhat blind, very brave, old and wrinkled like a grape, too, but quite strong. She taught me to be a less incredible version of her." 

Al snorted, shaking her head as she punched Wade's arm, who smiled although he knew Al was not entirely convinced. _'A mother will never be calm when her son walks away to live his own life,'_ Al had said when Wade was a boy and had scratched his knee. It was the first time the woman had mentioned the words _mother and son_ referring to their bond, and Wade knew there was no better description. "I'll be fine, Al, trust me, I know where the danger is."  

Al nodded, patting Wade's leg and picking a papaya from the fruits. "You better," she said, and they both continued their breakfast without another word about the matter.  

~ ° ~  

Worm and Clint were waiting for him at the edge of the island, Clint sitting on a large rock touched by the sea, watching Worm swim while he cleaned his feet. The water was so clear that it was easy to see the youngest of the three moving underneath, like a shark perched between the colorful fish that crossed his path without touching him. Clint stopped his task when Worm disappeared into a coral thicket, and sighed when the boy finally came out with some clams in his hands, smiling.  

That was a vision that Wade knew very well, that of unrequited love and the silent agony that only someone who has suffered from love before knows what it feels like.  

Wade cleared his throat and appeared in the range of vision of his friend, to which Clint looked away as Worm pulled his head out of the water to look at them, still with some seaweed on his head.  

"Ready to leave?" Wade asked, smiling at the flush on his best friend's cheeks, who stood up and glared at him.  

"Sure, what's stopping you?" Clint asked.  

"Me? Nothing," Wade snickered, turning around to walk the path to Peter's camp. "And you? What's stopping _you_?"  

"I'm ready," Worm announced, taking the bag where he had put the clams and tying it to his shoulders. Clint sighed and went to help him dry, while Wade by his side, shook his head and continued walking.  

The day was humid as they usually were on the island, but that particular morning was very hot. Wade did not understand how Peter and his pack always wore so many fabrics without finishing tearing them off by the end of the day.  

Leaping from liana to liana, and sliding from branch to branch, the wind refreshed them where the sun could not penetrate the vegetation so easily. What managed to get through, was the rumble of cicadas stunned by omens of rain.  

When they realized, they were already too close to the camp of the people, so they left the games behind and went down to approach slowly, lurking between the branches to avoid being observed.  

The camp had small mountains of green cloth, like anthills when they protude on the earth, and the three wondered if humans lived like this, in anthills of cloth. Then there were some artifacts that they didn't know, light as leaves but they were white, smooth and flat; there were also round and crystalline containers that were shaped like zucchini, somewhat thinner and with a liquid content inside them.  

The place seemed to be uninhabited at that time, probably the scientists were taking one of their routine walks and had left the place desolate out in the open, except for the anthills of cloth that seemed to be sealed. 

Sniffing their surroundings, the three began to approach the place, studying any sound or smell that betrayed any human that was nearby. But there was no one, and there were so many things there that it was almost a waste not to touch them.  

"Do you think they're alive?" Worm asked, approaching a square with a person who seemed static in the image. "But how do we get them out of here?"  

"I don't think they're alive." Clint signed, smelling the flat square and wrinkling his nose. "They're already dead."  

"Don't be stupid," Wade said, wagging another of the squares that looked like a very realistic drawing. "They probably live in there."  

"Well, I think they collect very strange things," Worm whispered, playing with something that made sounds very different from those already known, each time his fingers touched the small buttons. "Aaah guys, come see!"  

Clint and Wade approached Worm, who was looking at a box that shone and showed the image of one of the men who walked with Peter's pack, and another human, it looked like a female. "Do you think they're trapped too?"  

Wade started laughing and shook his head. "No, I've seen that one walk with Peter and I'm sure he lives out of that box."  

"Well look at that," Clint said at their side, whistling as he combed his short hair. "Why did you never tell me I looked so fine?"  

Worm ran to him, and as soon as he reached Clint, he gasped in astonishment, approaching the rectangular high thing in front of them. "I look like a baboon."  

"No, you look good," Clint said, clearing his throat and trying to ignore the increasing redness on his face.  

Wade rolled his eyes and push them both out of his way to study what the other two were watching. Big mistake. Wade knew he was unpleasant to look at, but the image in front of him only worsened his already shattered imagination, it just showed it more clearly than any water reflection could.  

His friends looked at each other and decided that it would be best to move on from there. Clint took a sheet and threw it over the rectangle with reflection, patting the Wade's shoulder, who simply smiled without sincerity. Worm bit his lip and looked around, there had to be something around that could distracted them, and indeed there was, and the gasp that escaped his mouth said it all, "They have weapons!"  

And that did distract Wade, who turned his attention immediately where Worm was, holding an object with 4 pointed ends that was quite small, like one of those tridents that their other pack members used to draw when telling the stories of the sea, the only difference was that this one was a very small trident, almost innocuous and silly.

"Do you think they stab their enemies with this?" Clint asked, picking up another of the metal objects, this one was not pointed, rather round.  

"I don't know," Wade shrugged, taking another of the weapons, this one was pointy and sharp. "Peter looks quite harmless, I never thought he was the type to kill his enemies."  

"Ouch!" Wade hissed, glaring at Clint when he stuck the small spear with 4 pointed ends into his arm.  

"Did it hurt?" Clint asked, smiling with a hint of pride.  

"Of course it hurt, you piece of shit!"  

"Then they _are_ weapons."  

Wade pounced over Clint and both began to fight, rolling until they fell on a bucket with water, it was pink, and with each movement a mountain of bubbles was created around them, as when the waves touched the shore of the sea and created foam in the sand - although these were different, slippery.  

They both watched the bubbles carefully, the iridescent colors rising in the air. This image was not new, they had seen bubbles before, but these were different. They lasted longer.  

Clint and Wade looked at each other, and when the silence became a new battle, they began to throw water at each other, discovering that they could not take hold of their bodies to wrestle because their hands were slipping as well as their feet.  

A high-pitched sound like the call of an elephant caused both to stop and divert their attention to Worm, who had some kind of horn in his mouth, with a graceful and elongated shape that ended in an open circle. The boy had his eyes wide open, looking at them as if it had not been his intention to make that sound. "I'm sorry."  

"What is that?" Clint asked, standing up and trying not to fall because of the slippery water.  

"I don't know," Worm replied, holding the piece away from him. "I think it's to call their pack."  

Wade ran to take the piece before Clint, both slipping even when they stood on the ground. Clint slipped and Wade took advantage to get ahead and grab the device, earning a glare from his blond friend which was ignored once Wade had the object in his hands. It was golden in color. It shone with the sun and had small sticks that jutted out and could be raised and lowered.  

"I'm going to make it sound."  

"But you'll call their pack," Worm whispered, as if trying to ignore the fact that just a few minutes ago he himself had released a louder sound than his voice.  

Wade sighed and made the illusion that he was going to leave the artifact on the table, causing his two friends to relax in a lie, for in an instant he put it back into his mouth and made a higher pitched sound louder than Worm did, making the earth vibrate under his feet, and stopping the routine of all the nearby animals that were astonished to hear the sound.  

Clint ran to him and took the object from Wade's hands, glaring at him in an attempt to maintain his sanity.  

Wade shrugged one shoulder and pointed to the device "Try it, it's fun."  

Clint continued to look at him seriously, although his hands itched holding the metal horn and would be a liar if he said he did not want to try it at least once. The blonde looked down at the golden object, and brought the mouthpiece to his mouth to emit the same sound as his friends, stopping to observe them and wait for a reprimand, but by this point, the other two were more than excited to see him break the rules.  

Clint exhaled in the mouthpiece, this time pushing down some of the sticks that came out of the thin branches of the horn, and the sound was different now, deeper.  

The three of them looked at each other scared, before starting to laugh while Clint continued to play the golden object and Wade went searching among the nests of the humans, finding very strange things that Wade was sure was their food, even breaking a purple bag and dropping on the floor a lot of the little snacks that had the shape of a triangle.  

Wade took one of the triangles and tried it, wrinkling his face almost immediately "Ugh, I think this is their poison."  

"At least they have something in common with us," Worm said to the other side, observing a skeleton that was haging from a stick as if it was standing. "Apparently they also keep the bones of their enemies."  

The sound of dry leaves crushing under some weight caused the three to stop their actions and turn to where the sound came from. Two faces with wide-open eyes watched them, their expressions of complete amazement but probably had been watching them for a long time. One of them was Peter, and Wade smiled widely at the sight of him, emitting a shout of joy from the bottom of his chest so that his friends could understand that it was the creature he talked so much about.  

Worm and Clint however, did not take their eyes off the man who looked like them. The fur around his animal like face, his big hands and strange feet like their's, and his blue hair, very similar to Worm's which had a more violet tone. The only difference was his way of dressing, all covered despite his fur, and wearing round glasses over his eyes. He was a human even when his fur tried to said the opposite.  

Wade bit his lip when he noticed the insecurity in his friends, and approached Peter to present his hand. The boy was still looking at them with wide eyes, and he seemed to understand with some delay, that Wade wanted to demonstrate their bond, the connection they had created without the need for words, so that their herds could understand that there was no danger on either side.  

"Peter," Wade said, with that language his tongue still could not pronounce well, and kept his arm stretched while waiting for an answer.  

Peter blinked several times, and a small smile played across his face before he stood up where he was squatting, and started walking slowly toward Wade. His pack friend tried to stop him saying something in their language, but Peter shook his head and replied,something similar to "I'll be fine."  

The brunet then squatted in front of Wade, smiling timidly as he always did. He seemed so different from everyone, that Wade did not understand why nobody got derange like him with the sound of Peter's shoes on the ground every time he moved around; nor how they didn't get their hearts disheveled with the air of the sighs that sometimes came out of his mouth, or how it was that anyone but him went crazy with love with the winds of his hair, the flight of his hands, and the gold of his laughter.  

Wade had not lost a gesture of his, nor a hint of Peter's character from the moment he saw him, and he did not understand how he was the only one.  

The warmth of the boy's palm touched his, it had become their form of greeting and connection, something that went beyond words and culture. Peter looked up and Wade smiled helplessly, suddenly remembering the audience around them.  

Looking over his shoulder, Wade signed for his friends to come closer, placing himself closer to Peter to allow them to walk closer without taking their eyes off the strangers. Worm turned his gaze to Clint, probably waiting for approval to feel more secure, but the other simply watched, it was his forte.  

Clint was deaf. "You don't need to hear to know your surroundings," he used to say, and Wade had learned a lot from him and Blind Al in that sense, but that ability also made Clint very suspicious of others.  

"Clint?" Worm asked, his hands drawing the name of the blonde, who looked at him uncertainly.  

"This is Peter," Wade said, approaching his friends still holding Peter by the hand, the other two flinched with insecurity, but didn't move away. Peter smiled and released Wade's hand to show his palms to the other two, perhaps trying to prove that he was not a threat.  

Worm smelled him, studying his body and moving a little closer, frowning as he noticed the amount of clothing they were wearing. "It must be because they don't have hair."  

"It's the habit," replied the man who was still a little far away, making everyone stop in their place, because he had spoken in their language instead of the human one.  

The man approached slowly, also showing his hands and removing his shirt, demonstrating their equality. Clint approached Worm in a sign of protection, and Wade watched them carefully as Peter tried to understand what they were saying.  

"My name is Hank," said the man, his words somewhat clumsy, probably a language that has not been pronounced for a long time. "I've been looking for you."  

"You understand us?" Worm asked, to which Hank nodded. Worm then told Clint that Hank spoke their language, to which Peter seemed very surprised.  

"Do they speak in signs too?"  

"Apparently," Hank replied, with the same fascination "Unfortunately I don't understand that one as well as the sign language of humans."  

"Why are you with the humans?" Wade asked, now that they could talk, the best would be to find out their intentions.  

"To have some justice done," Hank said, smiling with a nod from his head. "I know it's been a long time, and I should have done this a long time ago, but now I'm here and I want to help you."  

"We don't need help," Clint replied, since childhood he had learned to pronounce words and read lips with no problem. "For many years we have been free and we are well."  

"Of course you are," Hank nodded, smiling to ease the tension. "I don't come here to impose human culture, nor do I expect you to live surrounded by concrete walls and dress like us, but I think we all deserve justice, especially those who no longer live." Hank sighed, the memory of his parents' face barely visible in his mind.  

"Some of the people who were part of the Weapon X project are still alive, I have even heard that they want to implement it again, according to them for the cure of diseases, but we all know that is just a crazy lie to practice experimentation again, and I can't allow that." Hank's expression seemed conflicted as he observed the other three with all the sincerity he could show. "That's why I need your help."  

Although some of the words the man had uttered had not been in their language, perhaps because he did not remember how to say the word, or his tongue simply betrayed him, Wade understood what Hank was trying to say, and according to the expressions on his friends' faces, they seemed to understand as well. Clint watched the man's hands, his expressions and the raising and falling of his chest, probably even felt the throbbing of his heart, and Wade realized that he was still studying Hank, looking for the truths and lies, and he seemed not to find any of the latter, because the blond's expression never freed him of fear.  

"Do you want us to go with you?" Wade finally asked, turning his gaze to Hank, who shook his head.  

"You don't have an immune system ready to cope with the diseases of our world," Hank sighed. "Or maybe you do but we still don't know. At the moment the best we can do is to record you with a camera, you and part of the herd, show the world what experimentation has caused and demonstrate that this island is not just a story invented by the conspirators."  

It was interesting to hear how the man talked about the herd and the island as if it were still his, and it probably was, he had just set out on a trip, like some fishermen on the island who didn't return until after many months, his had just been a longer trip.  

Wade, Clint, and Worm blinked several times and looked at each other, trying to digest the words uttered, as if they hadn't understand a word the man had said, even when many of those words were in their own language.  

Peter at his side began to laugh, shaking his head and patting Hank's shoulder. "The only thing I understood from everything you said was the words you said in English, and I don't think they understand what camera and conspirators mean."  

Hank sighed and Peter chuckled again, making Wade smile even when he did not understand the reason for his merrymaking. Peter bit his lip when he saw this inocent gesture, and shrugged as if to enjoy it. Carpe diem. "I think the best thing we can do at the moment is to teach them our language, and that you, Hank, teach us theirs, that way we can understand each other better, don't you think?"  

"I think it's a brilliant idea!" Tony exclaimed, who had just appeared from the bushes, dividing the group of plants as Moses parted the Red Sea.  

The three locals of the island got scared, of course, and Hank and Peter tried to calm them down in a sigh, explaining in a few words that their friend had very little knowledge of delicacy. Just behind Tony also appeared Dr. Emrys and his companions who carried objects that looked like the real weapons, watching the three mutants as if they were a lost treasure and he was a pirate.  

Wade still didn't trust him, and he knew that his friends felt the same way because Worm gave a small grunt as Clint shielded him by pure instinct. Peter noticed this and frowned, and although Wade wanted to ask him to be careful, his words would not be understood.  

At that moment there were some louder grunts that came from their surroundings, and slowly some of the members of their pack began to come out from among the plants, specifically the ones who looked like werewolves, among them Logan, who was glaring at the humans.  

"Go back, _now_!" Logan ordered, looking at Wade, Clint and Worm with unwavering firmness.  

Clint and Worm obeyed immediately, running to the island because they had already broken many rules. Wade glared at Logan, who grunted louder as he observed his rebelliousness. Wade understood Logan's anger, but that was no way to enter new territory.  

"Wade," Logan snarled. "Move, now!"  

"I'm coming," Wade growled, turning to Peter and biting his lip as he took Peter's hand. "Soon," he said, in the boy's language so he could understand.  

Peter nodded and smiled, despite the nervousness in his eyes every time one of his pack growled. Wade sighed and released Peter's hand to move toward the island, but not before glaring at Logan, who continued to observe him seriously. Wade knew that a great reprimand was waiting for him, but he did not regret it.  

~ ° ~  

The road to their nest had passed in complete silence, no one said anything or commented on what happened, although that did not mean that things would stay like that and Wade knew it. Worm and Clint continued to look at him with a warning expression, so Wade would listen and not object at the time of the meeting, but they knew better than that.  

It was not even necessary to get to the center of the nest before Logan threw Wade against the trunk of a tree, drawing the attention of the entire herd, including Blind Al who was nearby drinking malt.  

The man breathed hard, watching Wade straight in the eye. "Do you think I warned you to stay away from people because of pure enjoyment?"  

"I'm sorry okay?" Wade shrugged, looking elsewhere but Logan. "They are not the same as the ones you know, this ones want to help us."  

"We don't need their help!" Logan snarled, and Wade wanted to make a joke about how Clint had said the same thing, but he knew it was not the best decision his brain could make at the time.  

"Did you see the man who looks like us? He mentioned many things that are happening in his land, like the Weapon X, they want to open it again and..."  

"Weapon X died many years ago," Logan's voice seemed to break, and Wade understood that his aggressiveness came from self-defense, a shell over his fear that Wade knew very well because everyone in their pack had lived it too.  

"We can't let it revive then," Wade whispered, watching Logan in the eyes as the other adverted his gaze.  

"Don't go near them again," and he said nothing more, letting go of Wade and heading towards the pack. "I don't want to see anybody relate to that species, we all know what could happen."  

"They are different!" Wade objected, knewing that he looked like an infant but couldn't help it, just like he couldn't help the leaping of his heart every time Peter looked at him directly in the eye with no sign of evil.  

"How?" Logan demanded, his breathing labored and cut. "Tell me what is different about a group of humans in a robe from the group of humans in a robe we met before, huh?"  

Wade turned his gaze to Worm and Clint, who were watching him, awaiting his response. "I..."  

"The man who looks like us was not lying," Clint said, clearing his throat when everyone turned their gaze on him. "And if the Weapon X is really going to come back, we're the only ones who can avoid it."  

"That is no longer our problem" Logan said, shaking his head and taking a drink of malt accompanied by a snarl, as if everything inside him hurt from just having to deal with their childish arguments. "We survived, if they want to continue killing each other and approving said practices, then be it, we are no longer part of their world."  

"What?" Wade snarled impatiently. "We could stop them, and yet you'll still stand with your arms crossed?"  

Logan growled, pushing Wade against the three again as his voice was loud against Wade's face, making everyone keep quiet. "I'm the leader of this pack, Wade," he said, his seriousness unwavering again, while Wade narrowed his eyes without opening his mouth to object. "The safety of our people is my priority, and the safety of their people is theirs, we already suffered enough, it's time they leave us alone."  

Logan then sighed and looked around. "Go back to your tasks and take care of your young," the herd looked at them both one last time, before returning to their places without objection. Logan then massaged his temples and looked at Wade. "Understand that there is nothing we can do to help them, humans cry their destructions for a while, and once they forget everything, they make the same mistake again. That's how they work, that's how _we_ work, and I prefer not to make the mistake of trusting like that again."  

Wade bit his lip and looked down. "I want to try."  

Logan sighed, took another swig of malt and looked at him for a while, before shaking his head. "You can make your own decisions, but don't endanger our pack."  

And without saying anything else, the leader moved away with his men, leaving Wade simply observing him with a certain emptiness inside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the art for this chapter [here](https://kari-vader.tumblr.com/post/183973089358/chapter-iv)


	6. V

After what happened that day, Peter was sure he would never see Wade again for the duration of his trip. And it was fine, he understood that his presence was a threat to Wade’s herd. What he did not expect was that three days later, when leaving his tent from a late nap, he would find the wild man sitting on one of the tables staring at the silverware as if trying to decipher them. 

"Wade?" Peter asked, causing the other to look over with a threat of breaking his neck from the sudden turn, and a smile so sincere that Peter felt like running to him and hugging him. Which he did not, he just approached to be right in front of Wade. "I thought I would never see you again."

Wade huffed a laugh, coming close enough to smell Peter and tickle him when the wild man buried his nose in his neck. "Hey!" Peter said between laughs, pushing Wade away from him. "I haven't even cleaned myself."

The other man paused for a moment to look over Peter's shoulder at the other scientists who were watching them silently. Wade smelled the air, wanting to make sure there was no danger nearby, injections like the ones he remembered as a child, the metal, the chains, the experimentation tables and the tools... 

"Wade?" Peter returned him to the present world, his face frowned in concern as he watched. 

Wade smiled to show he was fine, placing his hand open and flat on the brunet's head, and gave him several pats, a gesture in his pack that showed that everything was okay. 

Peter smiled at this, leaning into the hand until Wade held Peter’s face in his palm, caressing the velvet skin of the other with his thumb without being able to detach his gaze from Peter's eyes, who looked at him with the same feeling. 

"Ahem!"

Peter jumped and sat up straight, blushing a pretty pink on his cheeks, which Wade could not help but touch and approach to rub against his cheek. Peter gasped and pushed Wade away, laughing shyly and scratching his head as he stood up and said something to his pack. One had a short and graceful beard and watched them with a raised eyebrow and a bit of confusion. The one with the funny glasses seemed to study them. He even looked disgusted without admitting it out loud. And the other, Hank, whom Wade already knew better, simply smiled, shaking his head. 

Wade did not understand what they were saying, but Peter's tone of voice made it clear that the boy was embarrassed of being discovered in intimacy. It wasn't hard to guess either, especially since the pink color had turned reddish and Wade really needed to rub his cheek against Peter's. 

"Wade," Peter said, turning to him and clearing his throat. Hank then approached to act as intermediary. The brunet said something, his voice high and excited, and Wade found that studying his words according to Peter's tone of voice was one of his favorite tasks.

"We would like to know if you would like to learn some things about us," Hank said, this time in the words that Wade understood, while Peter nodded his approval even when he did not understand what they were saying. Wade found that that was adorable. "In the process, you could also help us understand you," Hank continued. "It's been a long time since I was here last, so there are many things I can't remember."

His words were not always accurate, but Wade understood what he was saying, especially because when Hank finished speaking, Peter looked at him with eyes bright full of emotion and a sincere smile. Though his expression was one of uneasiness and expectation, waiting for what Wade had to say as if his life depended on it. 

And Wade couldn't help wanting to give him everything... and to devour that smile. 

"Very well," Wade said, turning his gaze to Hank. "What goes first?" 

Hank snorted, grinning broadly and causing Peter's face to become an expression of pure excitement, for there was no need for translation this time. 

"Then let's start immediately," the one with the funny beard said, placing his hands on his hips and turning around to go to his green anthill. 

Peter bit his smile excitedly and waved for Wade to follow him, talking about everything a little at a time while Wade was just nodding without knowing what he specifically agreed to, but that didn't matter. Nothing really mattered when Peter uttered every incomprehensible word with tangible emotion. 

"First pictures," Hank translated, walking by his side with his arms behind his back. 

"How do you do to walk like that?" Wade asked, going under the fabrics of one of the tall ant-hills that they had in their camp, fabric which Hank held while Wade entered, and dropped once he himself had entered. 

"I don't know another way to walk. " Hank shrugged. "Or at least, I don't remember." 

Meanwhile, Peter had lit a strange light, like a giant dragonfly that Wade did not stop observing with his head tilted to the side. 

"Lamp," Peter explained, approaching Wade with a smile and taking his hand to bring it closer to the light. Wade shuddered, but Peter stroked his hand to calm him, asking something to Hank, who answered in Wade's language. 

"Everything will be fine," Hank said, pronouncing the words carefully. 

Peter then nodded and cleared his throat, turning his gaze to Wade. "Everything will be fine," he said with admirable determination. 

Wade couldn't help but blush, leaning toward the brunet to rub against his shoulder, while his hand touched the dim heat of the lamp, and Peter mentioned something about "LED" that Wade did not understand very well. 

"What does 'photographs' mean?" Wade asked, for Hank had mentioned that word before, but he had said it in their language. 

Peter chuckled, standing up from the crouched position he was in, and walked away to a black box that sat on a table. Hank then took a square that was at his side, full of white leaves inside it. 

"A photograph is a real drawing, a capture of an important moment," Hank then raised the square and pointed at it. "This is a book.” Then he took out a leaf from the square, smaller than the book and full of colors. "This is a photograph." 

Peter said something as he placed an item inside the black box. Hank smiled and nodded. "Peter wants you to know that this picture was taken by him." 

Wade looked at Peter, who smiled shyly and tried to disguise his pride. Wade then looked down at the "photograph" again and could really swear that it was a small world trapped inside that thing. 

There were some trees, and big tall gray boxes, which Hank described as buildings. There were also birds flying in the sky like on the island, but there was no water, only rivers of people with different types of clothes. Probably, there was always winter, or people always suffered from cold. Wade could not understand very well.

There were also other boxes smaller than the gray ones, in different colors like yellow, black, white, gray, blue and red, and Hank called them "cars" and Peter said they were "fast and they take you everywhere, but they can't fly. At least, not yet." 

Wade found all that fascinating and wondered why humans didn't walk or jump from "building to building" to get where they had to go. But he supposed that just as they suffered from the cold, they probably also suffered from lack of abilities. 

At that moment, Peter lit another light and extinguished the lamp Wade had been staring at, and from that second light, an image was projected, another photograph. However, this one was giant, reflected on the fabric of the anthill like those nights with the herd when they sat around the fire and told stories with their shadows projected on a rock. Wade slowly approached the image where there was a gorilla in brownish colors standing powerful like those Wade knew and respected on the island. 

Then the image changed, and Wade jumped up, laughing when he noticed the picture of a man without clothes. That person should be like his own people, but he was standing with his two hind legs, and his hands were behind his back. Wade then bit his lip and humorously tried to imitate him, standing as straight as possible, and making Peter laugh in a loud snort.

The image changed again, and Wade, this time, only observed the different "cities" as Hank had called them. Some surrounded by gray, others with rivers in between, or full of sand, or rocks, or snow, or seas. In each of them, humans had a different ways of dressing, and their skin colors were different, and their "buildings" too — some taller or smaller than others. Some cities were surrounded by vegetation, others surrounded by "skyscrapers." 

Each image had something different, and Wade always found something beautiful in each of them. 

And then the cities disappeared, and there was a very particular image of a human male and female, one of their two hands joined, and the others resting on the waist or the back of their partner. They seemed to be dancing in a way where their eyes remained hypnotized on each other. 

Wade turned his gaze to Peter, who smiled absentmindedly at the image, as if daydreaming. Wade bit his lip with a playful smile and ran to Peter to pull him in the light. At the same time, the man of the funny beard and the one with glasses entered the anthill. Wade stood up as straight as he could, surrounding Peter by the waist with his arm and taking his hand with the other. 

Peter blushed a violent reddish color and began to laugh when Wade started jumping wildly, almost lifting Peter from the floor to move from side to side. 

"Wade!" Peter shrieked, laughing with great joy while shaking his head. He wrapped his arms around Wade's neck and buried his face there to muffle his laugh as the wild man stopped to hug him tightly and smell the sweet scent of "shampoo" in his hair. 

At that moment, the image changed again, and Wade stood there watching in amazement, letting Peter go when he freed himself to approach the image. "Constellations," the brunet said. "Space."

"That's the sky at night," Wade said, to which Hank nodded, shrugging one shoulder. 

"That's what space is. It always looks like that, but the earth is far away, and that's why we only see what our eyes allow us to observe." 

"What is he saying?" Peter asked, looking at Wade when he came to touch the stars projected on his face.

"He says that image is the sky at night," Hank explained, changing the image to more stars and planets. Wade knew they existed. Many times, some of his pack sat around the fire to talk about space and everything that entailed, but Wade had never seen it in that magnitude. 

Peter understood how surprised Wade was when his eyes didn't move from the screen, especially when the image changed, and his eyes seemed to open in surprise and glowed in enthusiasm. The brunet chuckled, taking Wade's hand and dragging him towards a huge book called Cosmos. It was always his favorite when Peter was a little boy. 

"This is a book," Peter explained, taking Wade's hand so they could touch the cover together, hard and already somewhat worn out over the years. 

"Book," Wade replied, drawing a smile on Peter's face. 

"Yes," he nodded, opening the book to show the images in there. "Book." 

Wade began to smell it, turning the pages and looking at the paper with a frown. Peter understood that any existence of books on that island had been extinguished when the people who survived the catastrophe decided to continue surviving. They probably burned all the sheets so as not to die of cold in their first winter nights in the island. 

It must have been very hard for those who had grown up as ordinary human beings, and they were brought to that island as an empty promise, because burning all those books meant erasing all data from their past with it... and still, they managed to create a species completely different from the human. 

Peter admired them. He really wanted to help as much as possible to tell their story to the world — that their battles were not in vain. 

"How do you say stars?" Peter asked, averting his gaze to Hank, who was sitting in a corner, not wanting to break the bond between Wade and Peter. 

Hank spoke the word, drawing the attention of Wade who understood that it was his language they were pronouncing. Peter smiled at this, repeating the vowels in his mind so as not to ruin it as much as he knew he would. Then he cleared his throat and said "stars" in Wade's language. 

The other man looked at him with rounded eyes, and then he smiled widely, nodding and saying the word again. Peter laughed and repeated it, causing Wade to beam again. 

Then Wade looked back at the book and pointed to Saturn, and pronounced the name in his language, turning his gaze to Peter and hoping that he would copy him. Peter chuckled and obliged, pronouncing each sound with the precision his tongue allowed, especially because it was not so much a word but a sound. They spoke by sounds, their tongues and vowels were decisive in their language. 

Wade even left the book aside to point out different objects in the tent, pronouncing the name in his language and allowing Peter to copy it. Then he would wait expectantly for Peter to say the word in english so Wade could follow. By the end of the afternoon, Peter knew a lot of words, and Wade memorized everything easily, he himself pointing things out and saying them in english. 

Tony even rejoiced when Wade explained to Hank that he and his friends were sure that the silverware was their weapons. Then Tony proceeded to show Wade the true weapons of the humans, and Wade was entertained all afternoon, admiring the guns that Peter hated so much. 

The following days, Wade came back, this time with his two friends, one of whom was physically very similar to Hank. His name was Worm. The other had a more human appearance, tall and attractive, both were, but the blond one, whom Wade called Clint, had feet like those of a hawk and a hunting agility that no human possessed. 

Worm taught Peter to swim in the river without being seen as a threat or a prey, placing seaweed and flowers on his head. "It's for protection," Hank translated, while Worm continued to explain what he should do, and Peter only understood the words _carefully_ and _quickly_. 

Then the purple-haired boy jumped into the water and disappeared among the rocks of the deep lagoon, moving with agility as if he were one of the fish. Hank, next to Peter, sighed and jumped in as well, making the water sputter everywhere. 

Peter laughed and bit his lip, going to the lagoon to sink one foot in it, taking it out immediately even though the water was so clear that everything could be seen. Everything but Worm, who suddenly appeared from under the rock where Peter was and pulled him by the arm until Peter fell in. 

Then there was Clint, who was a little calmer. He taught Peter to use a bow and arrow, helping him along with Wade to climb the tall branches of the trees. From there, he would launch the arrow towards the ripe fruits that were hanging in the distance.

Clint did not even stop to observe his target. He launched the arrow and the fruit fell, being caught before touching the ground by Worm who put everything in his backpack made of jute. 

Peter failed several times, almost even launching the arrow at Logan, the leader of Wade's pack. The same man who managed to catch the arrow before it got stuck in his eye. Peter gasped and hid behind Wade's back, who smirked, ashamed, and shrugged. Logan simply glared at them, huffed an angry air with his nostrils, and continued on his way. 

Then it was Peter's turn. He taught them how to use a laptop and showed them the magical world of music, to which Wade took Peter from the waist, like the couple in the photo they had seen before, and tried to imitate the dance while Peter kept laughing. Worm even followed, taking Clint as his dance partner as the blonde blushed so much that Worm became concerned that he would explode, not understanding that he was the reason for the sudden fever. 

Then he also taught them to play video games like "Duck Hunt," which was Worm's favorite. How to observe microbes in their microscopes, and most importantly, to use the skateboard. 

The three enjoyed skateboards and bicycles so much that they even learned to use them on the branches of the trees as if they were ramps. 

Peter helped Wade keep his balance on the skateboard. Once the wild man learned to handle it, Peter stopped knowing how it was to walk on the ground, because Wade always passed by his side to lift him up bridal style and take him for a ride on skateboard or bicycle.

That until one day the skateboard went flying and hit Dr. Emrys, who threatened to break the board, and Peter had to apologize for a full hour until the doctor released his skateboard. 

And then one night came in which Wade pointed to the sky and, taking Peter's hand, asked, "Stars?" 

And Peter understood that what he wanted was for Peter to show him the galaxy. 

The brunet chuckled, nodding and taking Wade by the hand to get away from his group and Wade's friends, to whom Emrys was trying to mislead into showing him where the rest of the pack was. Worm just placed flowers on the doctor’s bald head, and Clint took off the man’s glasses to put them on himself. 

Peter snorted and took the telescope they had to the nearest ravine, where the sky was seen in all its grandeur, brilliant as Peter had never seen it before. 

"Maybe we'll get to see a shooting star," Peter whispered. He didn't need to speak up because Wade was always close, sticking to Peter as much as possible to study his lips with every word. It was overwhelming, but Peter understood that the herds of chimpanzees and gorillas often transmitted their emotions through tact and closeness. So for Wade, that was normal behavior. 

"Stars," Wade said, pointing to the sky. "Fast." 

Peter laughed and nodded. It was amazing how much Wade had learned in a few weeks. "Yes, a shooting star is a star that goes fast, maybe she's in a hurry."

Wade smiled and nodded, pronouncing the word in his language, and explaining that shooting star was not the name they gave it, but _light with wings_. Peter smiled at that. The whole idea seemed very possible after all he had found on the island. 

He then finished putting up the telescope, and looking through the lens, he adjusted the vision to then give Wade space so he could watch. 

The other man approached carefully, watching Peter as a child looks at their guardian when they need permission to do something, making sure they have the right to do so even though their guardian already gave them the green light. Peter found that trait in Wade was interesting. He was the owner of the island compared to Peter, but somehow, he always sought approval, not even knowing that Peter was least aware of anything about the world. 

"Why do you know so much?" Peter remembers that Tony asked him one day while they were trying to decipher an algorithm. 

And Peter shrugged. "I don't know anything about what really matters." 

Tony raised an eyebrow, with that questioning smile drawn on his face. "And what's that thing that really matters?" 

Peter had smiled too at that time, looking at the board. "Everything I don't know about." 

The memory surface because, at that moment, Wade seemed to know everything Peter did not know, and still he looked at Peter to find an answer. 

Wade stood up in front of the telescope and placed his eye to the lens just as a shooting star flew by, illuminating the sky in its wake and showing just how fast good times could go by. Or so Peter thought, until Wade gasped amazed and took the telescope with both hands, speaking in his language when he also detailed the form of the Capricorn constellation that glowed with a naturalness that never showed in the skies of the city. 

"Goat," Wade said in english and surprised Peter who had taught him about animal names only a few hours before. 

Peter looked at the sky and nodded, dumbfounded, but before he could say anything, Wade took his hand and pulled him closer, placing Peter in front of his body and telling him to look through the telescope. Peter wasn't sure that Wade understood what that closeness could cause. And if he knew, he didn't seem to care much. 

Peter placed himself in front of the telescope, his attention focused on the vision in front of him and through the lens. And the thing is, that Peter had always been sentimental. "You fall in love too easily," his aunt had told him some years ago. And Peter knew it, but he couldn't stop his hormones from winning the battle, especially when looking to the side, to find that man was still staring at him with passion and curiosity. Because Peter knew it — that look.

"Goat," Wade repeated, and then in a lower, almost whispering voice, said something Peter did not know but he understood, for Wade pointed to the stars and then to Peter, watching him closely as his eyes trailed over Peter until he felt naked. 

"I'm gonna lose my virginity in a forest," Peter said, without being understood, although he didn't care. For Wade kept coming closer and closer, to trace Peter's face with his hands at his sides without touching him. Cold and with his eyes fixed on Peter's own, as if wanting to devour his emotions. And he was accomplishing it, because Peter couldn't breathe. "I think I want to lose my virginity in a forest." 

"What?" Wade asked in his own language. It was a word that Peter now knew. 

"I don't know," Peter whispered, his lips barely emitting any sound. "I do not know what I want." 

And Wade was very close and still so far away, and Peter felt his skin burn as if fever had suddenly attacked him, while Wade lowered his hand to Peter's neck and rested it there as if it were his own property, and by this point, Peter couldn't even object otherwise.

He placed his thumb on Peter's jaw, and where his finger touched, Peter felt his skin burn to the point of fire — a passionate ardor that wanted to suffocate him. For a frenzied moment, Peter thought Wade had branded him, fingerprints tattooed into Peter's skin, childish graffiti that signalled _Wade was here_

And when Peter tried to move forward, get a little closer, the minimum distance that was needed to stop being so far away, Wade looked at him with a cold, punctual look. One that carried an attached warning that said _"I know myself, and if you move one more single step, I will not be able to stop, so I'm asking you not to do it."_

But Peter did not care. He really did not care at all because at this point, he was willing to do almost everything. It was as if Wade was the air itself, and Peter was drowning. 

Wade didn't look away from Peter's eyes, and his breathing turned into a sigh over Peter's mouth, who was now at his mercy. Wade caressed Peter’s cheek as his nose brushed Peter's, making the smaller man almost jump because he had not really measured their distance. Wade noticed this and brushed his nose against Peter's again, comfortingly, up and down, closing his eyes for a moment and then opening them with more passion than before. 

"Wade," Peter whispered, and Wade had barely brushed his lips against Peter's, asking for permission, when.. 

"I was wondering if you had already finished with the telescope?" Emrys asked, suddenly breaking the magic of the moment. 

Needless to say, Peter’s heart almost stopped and would have left his chest if it had not been so accelerated just moments before. "Doctor Emrys!" he screeched as he jumped and turned around. 

Wade just glared at the doctor, who simply raised an eyebrow even when a mocking smile seemed to give way on his expression, but Emrys immediately concealed it, approaching to observe the stars through the lens. "I was just curious about the stars," he said, looking up to smile at Peter. "I see you've come a long way, young Parker. By chance, do you know where the pack is?" 

Peter looked at Wade out of the corner of his eye, who seemed close to committing homicide. Peter cleared his throat and shook his head, taking Wade by the arm to return to the camp. "Not yet, Dr. Emrys. It is important to earn each other's trust first.” 

"Of course, and I see that you two trust a lot in each other," he said, putting his attention back on the telescope. "Just remember that we will only be here a month, and we have already lost what? Two weeks?” 

Peter nodded but chose not to continue the conversation. His face was still furiously flushed, and Peter also preferred to avoid the chill that ran through his body every time Emrys spoke.

The two of them went back to the camp saying nothing at all, as Peter watched everything but Wade, trying to decipher what was happening with his brain and heart. Or how to make them work normally again, because it was still _too soon,_ and Peter honestly didn’t know if he would be prepared, for whatever too soon meant. However, if he stayed near Wade, and Wade asked him for something, _anything_ , Peter felt like he would not refuse.

~ • ~

If his hands were callused or soft, if his phrases danced as Peter imagined, or if his scars hurt when there was full moon. Peter had many questions, suddenly he was aware of everything Wade did or had, the shape of his elbows, knees, and back; how his lips wrinkled when he thought or stretched when he smiled, the way his loincloth sometimes moved too much and Peter couldn’t help but blush and look away a little later than he should.

He was lost.

Just then, Peter was transcribing Liszt's music to put it into the audio system later, because Tony had decided to play some classics to teach the natives about music history. The three men, who already knew several words in english, now couldn’t stop dancing and playing with the stereos and instruments that Tony showed them, small and round, or medium and with several buttons, which Worm never stopped touching.

Peter snorted, taking the electric piano they had brought for the nights they had nothing to do, and put it on an empty table. He placed the music sheets on the music stand, and slid his fingers over the keys, turning on the piano and searching for the note that sounded best.

Peter felt Wade's eyes on him. Since the previous night, it had been like that, but neither of them had approached the other. No word or communication had been declared in the silence of what was already known but neither of the two admitted.

The electric piano would never sound like a real piano, molded with wood and carved by hand, like the one Tony kept in his living room; but Peter enjoyed the sole attempt of his fingers to copy a ballad that only professionals could interpret. Peter laughed, listening to the sound come out as blunders, because Peter was just trying to learn.

"To have skilled hands for working with tools and small pieces," Tony had said a few months ago. “First you must learn to move your fingers over something more delicate, and you are too much of a virgin for me to ask you to touch another human's body, so with a piano, we will settle.”

Peter chuckled at the memory, and shook his head when his finger missed a key.

"Hard," someone said behind him, the word still very new to the mouth that pronounced it but knowledge already present.

Peter froze in place for a moment, trying to steady his breathing so he would not look like a teenager with hormonal problems. "It's not that hard, I'm just bad at it.”

Wade shook his head, and despite being a joke, he seemed to take it to heart. "You bad at nothing."

Peter looked at him, trying to understand everything he felt inside Wade's blue eyes, the same man who looked at him with unwavering sincerity. "You don't even know me," the brunet whispered.

Wade smiled and shrugged, placing his hand over Peter's on the piano, just slightly, like a caress. "I feel like I do," Wade said in his language, words that Peter now understood better thanks to the time they had spent together. "And you feel it, too."

Wade played with a few keys of the piano, letting the sound of each note pause a few seconds before releasing them. Then he smiled and let go of Peter's hand, staring at him one last time before standing up to walk away to where the others were.

Peter stayed like that for a moment, watching, the presence of that hand over his still tickling his skin like a ghostly phantom. And Peter was even more confused than before.


End file.
